1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to electrical connector to be mounted on a printed circuit board (PCB).
2. Field of the Invention
Japanese patent application Kokai No. 6-310197 discloses an electrical connector of this type. As shown in FIG. 7, a contact terminal 40 has a fixing section 41, a contact section 42 extending downwardly from the fixing section 41, and a terminal lead 43 extending laterally from the fixing section 41. It is mounted over the side walls 44 and 45 of a plug cavity 47 of a connector body 46 such that the contact sections 42 are exposed within the plug cavity while the fixing sections 41 and the terminal leads 43 are outside of the plug cavity 47.
In order to prevent movement of the contact sections 42, the terminal leads 43 and fixing sections 41 are placed on the outside of the side walls 44 and 45 while the contact sections 42 are placed on the insides of the side walls 44 and 45 so that capillary effects are produced to pull the flux from the mounting area to the contact sections 42, making unstable contact conditions.
Accordingly, it is an object of the invention to provide an electrical connector able to prevent the flux and solder from climbing from the mounting area on a PCB, thereby providing stable contact conditions.
According to the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising an elongated connector body having a plug cavity for receiving a mating connector; a plurality of terminal mounting spaces provided within the plug cavity with a predetermined pitch in a longitudinal direction of the connector body; a plurality of contact terminals each having a fixing section, a terminal lead extending from one end of the fixing section, a U-shaped section extending from the other end of the fixing section, and a contact section extending from the U-shaped section; the fixing sections being mounted in the terminal mounting spaces such that the terminal leads projecting from the connector body and the contact sections facing a center of the plug cavity; and a device for preventing the contact sections from moving toward the fixing sections.
The terminal length between the contact section and the fixing section is large, the contact section is connected to the fixing section via the U-shaped section, the device for preventing the contact section from moving toward the fixing section and keeping it from the side wall to avoid the capillary effects thereby preventing the flux and solder from climbing from the mounting area on the PCB.
According to an embodiment of the invention there is provided an electrical connector comprising a plurality of partition walls to form the terminal mounting spaces with the pitch in the longitudinal direction; and the device comprises protrusions which are provided on sides of the partition walls and enter gaps between the contact sections and the fixing sections of the contact terminals.
The protrusions enter the gaps between the contact sections and the fixing sections to prevent the contact sections from moving toward the fixing sections and keep the contact sections from the side walls, thereby preventing the capillary effects and the flux and solder from climbing from the mounting area on the PCB, thus providing a stable contact.
According to another embodiment of the invention, the device comprises an inward edge extending laterally from the contact section toward the fixing section.
The inward edge prevents the contact section from moving toward the fixing section and keeping the contact section from the side wall, thereby avoiding the capillary effects to prevent the flux and solder from climbing from the mounting area on the PCB, providing a stable contact.